Sometimes i just hate walking around london and not undertstanding the language around me. it feels alienating.Does anyone else feel like this? Im not a racist although i dont think i have to prove myself. Just getting used to london life.
2006-12-07 00:33:24 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Personally i dont think i am, im just not used to it all yet. Im sure i will settle into it soon.
2006-12-07 00:35:28 · update #1
a closet racist eh! i dont think so. I have other cultures in my family. BUT i knew i wud get dramatic remarks but at least i have the gutts to say what i think and feel. :)
2006-12-07 00:37:19 · update #2
No im not from an ethnic minority. Half welsh/half english. I just look italian as ive been told. Maybe its the dark hair.
2006-12-07 00:39:48 · update #3
To cici(soz if i got this wrong) i know most people can speak english, but they dont alwalys do do they? And this can be a bit uncomfortable when your not used to it, is it not? I mix with a few people of different race and religion at work, but they all speak english. We are in England afterall! I speak welsh but i dont go round speaking it all the time.
2006-12-07 00:51:05 · update #4
Yes, if everyone integrated it would be good. People are so hard in london compared to in wales because of the differnt languages..it sort of puts up a wall between differnt cultures. Ah well....
2006-12-07 00:55:52 · update #5
Wud a couple of hot italian guys speaking in italian bother me? I would still feel uncomfortable yes. Im not attracted to the stereotype im afraid.
2006-12-07 01:19:32 · update #6
Back to this again
No you are NOT a racist
You simply feel uncomfortable that the pc brigades idea of inclusion of other cultures is that they do not assimilate but simply co-exist causing the gradual erosion of the indigenous culture. It is a fatal flaw in the immigration policy of the UK which you are going to have a hard time repairing at this stage. I understand your alienation. I left London for Dublin 14 years ago and the difference it made to my psychological state was surprising. I was much more relaxed and comfortable. I didn't understand why until it was pointed out to me that everybody around me looked like me. It was like going back to a club or a tribe where everyone is of the same type and outlook and gives a person a sense of belonging and calm
It wasn't a concious thing, it was in inbuilt natural reaction I think
2006-12-07 00:41:50 · answer #1 · answered by Yeah yeah yeah 5 · 6⤊ 2⤋
Oh come on are you seriously suggesting no one speaks english in London? Let's not over exagerate here. If what you were saying was true, maybe I'd have some sympathy, as that's clearly what you're asking for, but knowing London pretty well, I can safely say it's possible to get through the day speaking to everyone you meet in english.
EDIT
i'm not denying that people don't speak other languages, but the fact remains that the vast majority of them speak english aswell, and if not, are learning it!
RE your comment: if you were to speak to these people, they'd speak in english to you right?! So in your case, is it more a matter of you hearing conversations around you that you can't understand...? If a couple of hot italian guys were chatting away in italian would that also bother you? Just out of interest?
Well if that's the case, if every foreign language you hear bothers you, no matter how close a tie the people are to the Uk in terms of history and race, then I think you're one of the last remaining people to understand that it's inevitable the world is coming together, and i'm afraid it's something you have to get used to. Trust me, after a while, you won't think twice about it, and you'll feel just at home in London given the fact that you are not racist..for the xenophobes out there it's a different story...
2006-12-07 00:41:47 · answer #2 · answered by pseudoname 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
You feel uncomfortable because your surroundings are not what you expected or what you are used to. That is natural.
Nature or God (take your pick) wired our brains so that things that are different from what we were anticipating raises an alert.
Think of it from a survival standpoint---if you didn't notice that something had changed with the weather or the animals around you, you may not have survived.
So don't beat yourself up because you feel alienated.
We're also wired to adapt to what is around us which is what you're trying to do now by asking questions.
Things are different, but that can be a good thing. Try to relax and let go of your expectations of what you think London SHOULD be and see London how it IS.
Meet people, make friends and eat some new foods. I am sure after a while you'll get used to it and it will feel like home.
On a side note, having folks talking around you in languages you don't understand can be a blessing. Think of all the conversations you overhear on the bus---much easier to ignore when you can't understand someone's griping about their in-laws. LOL
Best wishes.
2006-12-07 00:53:51 · answer #3 · answered by bookmom 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, you're not being selfish. You are expressing the built-in need to live with your own kind. We are told that this is wrong, which is ironic, especially as the same people tell us that homosexuality, for example, is ok, when that is just a built-in feeling too, and against the majority.
Also ironically, though, your avatar implies that you are from an ethnic minority.
Does this mean that you wish to live in a place that is purely for people from your ethnic background? If so, that would be segregation / apartheid.
I believe that the whole country should adopt the laws, customs, and beliefs of the majority.
BTW I am a nationalist, not a racist.
2006-12-07 00:36:44 · answer #4 · answered by shoby_shoby2003 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No you're not selfish. It will take a little while to get used to London if you are not used to it. I was brought up in the north of Scotland which has very few people of non-brit descent. If you are not used to a mixture of people, it can be a little bit frightnening at first but don't let you own feelings or the comments of others get you down.
Enjoy the flavours and colours that London posses. Just because someone has a different colour of skin or speaks a different langauge does not mean they are a threat to the "British" way of life. Society changes, always has, always will. Just try and see the good things and you'll settle in fine.
2006-12-07 00:44:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes. You are selfish.
My children are growing up in fantastic multi-cultural area and IMO really benefitting from learning so much about the cultures and customs of their friends.
Plus, just think: the discomfort you feel once in a while is what many minority ethnic people have to struggle with every day. You've been a priveledged position and had a little glimpse of what life is like for others. Learn from it.
2006-12-07 09:33:19 · answer #6 · answered by purplepadma 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like it or not it's going to happen.
About the best you can do is build in laws and regulations that help keep it that way, without putting an unfair burden on minorities who could take that law to a higher court and have it struck down.
You can, for example, declare your town to a be a Christian or Jewish or Atheist town, of course if Hindus move in and become a majority they could then change this to a Hindu town!
In delaring it Christian town you can futher declare that public displays of Chiristian holidays are allowed, BUT you can't deny the rights of the minority Hindus to have public Diwalli displays and if public funds are used for Christian displays, then they must also be available for Hindu displays.
Failure to do this can invalidate your law in a state or Federal court.
YOu can pass a law that requires the ENTIRE town to decide on zoing issues, but this can come back in your face if you become a minority. The majority could, for example, block the building of a Church or the renovation of a Church.
The thing of it is, we allow this to happen.
Everyone in your town speaks English, then all the schools and all the businesses should speak English. We shouldn't have bilingual this or that.
The moment we do this, we open the door to the National Athem being sung in Aramatic or French or Spanish.
PEople have to come to their senses are realize that there are THREE reasons people move to a new area.
To exploit the natural resources for their own gain
To live a better life in an area much nicer than what they left
To ruin an area and take it over and turn it into a colony
There are the ONLY three reasons, aside from YOUR EMPLOYERS sends you there, to move volullentarily
From my point of view if, say, Islamics move here from an Islamic nation and DEMAND and local Islamic court, I have to ask why did they move here? To make MY country Islamic or for the better life offerred by my country.
If they're here to ruin my country, put them on a plane and send them back.
They can have their religions, their places of worship, their clothing, their holidays, but not their colonialism disguised as immigration and not their terrorism.
They are joing US we are not become them. If we did, we'd move THERE instead and do things THEIR way.
Culture I don't mind. Changes of our rules that are radical and based on their cultures, that is INVASION and COLONIALIZATION and they should do it formally with war or get a Balford delcartion from the US Government.
Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russians, Armenians do not have their own "courts" in America. The use the same "courts" as natural born Americans use.
2006-12-07 04:10:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did you read the wording that mori poll gave when they asked people the question. Because that is where people give answers and the choices are never great when they do so. I know I have been asked in polls and lets face it they did not the choices I would make when I am voting ever. Besides it also depends on the scope of and range of people you ask anything. Roy. Roy also why the change from the percentages near the end to 7 out of 10. Is that because it was far to low to make your point of the higher levels you had in the other ones.
2016-05-23 03:20:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are entitled to your opinions and preferences just as everyone else is, and people should accept that.
Contrary to what other people have said, you are not racist. A racist is someone who believes in the inherent superiority of a particular race or races over each other - you have not made any such comment.
As long as it is not extremist, I am in favour of multi culturalism. Most people integrate very well, but there are some who choose not to mix. You can literally identify areas of London which are specific to certain religions and nationalities. This only serves to divide people.
Everyone has a responsibility to ensure they integrate with other people and there is no single culture to blame.
2006-12-07 00:51:03 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
This is the reality of the world we live in now. I was in a shop the other day and the girl behind the counter was speaking Polish to two other guys, I felt like an alien in my own city! There's not much we can do about it unfortunately. However, the good news is that the next generation will speak English, so it shouldn't be a problem.
2006-12-07 00:38:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋